n. Any of several artemisias, especially Artemesia vulgaris, native to Eurasia, having downy leaves and used as a flavoring and in moxibustion. [Middle English, from Old English mucgwyrt, mugwyrt : mucg-, variant of mycg, midge (since mugwort is attractive to flies, and bunches of mugwort were hung in houses, stables, and barns until covered with flies, after which the bunches were covered with a sack to trap the flies and put into water to drown them) + wyrt, plant; see WORT1.] |
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